Gentleman's Wars 2: A Tower Defense LitRPG Series Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Epilogue

  Gentleman’s Wars

  Book 2: Expansion Plan

  by Andrew Karevik

  Gentleman’s Wars: Book 2

  Copyright © 2021 LitRPG Freaks

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.

  Chapter 1

  Four months ago, I was a student of the alchemical arts, focusing on a lifelong pursuit of knowledge and science. Four months ago, I’d have been locked up in my laboratory, studying some treatise on physics or experimenting with isphene gas, ignoring the rest of the world—especially politics! But now…well, things have changed for me. Quite radically too.

  My beloved Uncle Arnison was assassinated by some nefarious power with unknown motives. Shortly after his death, my cousins and own brother were killed by that same entity. The Blake family tree was ruthlessly cut down so that only two branches remained: myself and my little sister who had no power to form full sentences as of yet.

  No doubt we too would have become victims, had I not found shelter behind a most peculiar set of laws and rules known as the Gentleman’s War. For as long as my household participated in this strange game, using golems to attack and defend territories, the Crown would keep a close eye on me. Any assassin attempting to violate the Great Game and take my life, or harm my estate, would quickly be investigated by the most powerful force on the continent: The Queen’s Men.

  Four months might seem short during peace, but during times of strife and pain they feel unnaturally long. With the chaos of securing my estate, fending off invaders and would-be conquerors, time seemed to inch by. But now, as the warm winds of summer started to come in, I was starting to feel a little better about my position. Enemies had tried to strike me when I was vulnerable, tried to take my land and my valuable territories, but they had all failed. My mad scramble to build a proper defense with only a scant amount of resources had worked. For now, the Blake Estate was safe and sound.

  But safety did not equal prosperity! Not in the least! For even villages on the outskirts of Velicia were considered to be safe under the watchful eye of the Crown, but they were not wealthy nor influential. As a gentry, the lowest rank in the nobility, there was a great deal of room for someone like me to move upwards, provided that I had the gumption to climb the ladder, so to speak. Winning defenses, gaining new territories and increasing my influence would increase my rank as a Gentleman, allowing me access to greater defensive buildings and territorial upgrades.

  If I continued moving up in the social ladder, not only would I gain prestige and power, but I’d be able to obtain the resources necessary to find my family’s murderer. The Blakes had never been a particularly ambitious or well-known lot. The only opponents my uncle ever had were around the poker table. Who would want him dead, or why we were the target of such a cruel plot was far, far beyond me. If I was going to get the answers, I’d need to search far and wide for leads.

  One lead had already presented itself during the course of my first few months as a Gentleman of the House. The Lady Juliet Efera, a gentry owner such as myself, had taken a liking to my territory and due to a series of missteps of her own, she had found herself desperate for a new estate. A foolish and forlorn attack on my property had led to a devastating loss on her part.

  In order to save her from utter annihilation, I had encouraged Juliet to marry my newfound relative, Eustace Frankinson, grandfather to my nephew-in-law. In doing so, she was able to keep her status as a Lady. More importantly, she was able to keep her territorial claims to the land that had been taken by a coalition of her enemies.

  Eustace, while friendly enough towards me, wasn’t interested in granting me any favors. During the wedding feast with his new bride, he had told me something rather cryptic. Lady Efera had some information that could help me in the search for my uncle’s killer. But, of course, she was far too distracted with regaining her land to be able to focus on providing me those details.

  The proposal was simple. Get Efera her estate back, learn what she had to say about my family’s assassin. Otherwise, I’d be on my own, without any leads. I was partly irritated with the old patriarch for dangling this information above me, forcing me to leap like a trained hound for it, but at the same time…I understood his reasoning. I had offered Lady Efera entry into my family out of empathy for the poor woman. I wasn’t about to rush into a great conflict on her behalf (at least, not without the proper motivation.)

  Eustace was clever enough to use this against me, putting me at his mercy. And so, while my mad scramble to defend my estate was over, I had a new task before me. I had to figure out how to regain the Lady’s lost territory while avoiding a major conflict with her old enemies, lest they decide to use their immense power to pave over my estate in the process.

  How was I going to get that land back? That…was a great question. One that I didn’t particularly have the answer to just yet. Because right now, I had no real resources with which to invade and House Frankinson had no real desire to spend their own resources assisting me in this task either. Not that they had enough for an outright invasion of an enemy territory anyway.

  “It’s here!” came the cry from outside my office, snapping me out of my reflections. The shout belonged to Lily, the head maid of the estate. She quickly scuttled in, beaming brightly at me as she held up the parchment in question. The paper that I had been waiting two whole weeks to receive. “The license application is finally here!”

  My heart rose into my throat at the sight of the large envelope. The royal seal of the Queen’s Men was upon it. “Open it,” I said, pointing to the letter opener on my desk. “I dare not look myself.”

  Miss Lily did not hesitate; she quickly took the golden letter opener in hand and with a quick swipe, had cut the paper free from its constraints. She lifted up the letter to the light and read aloud. “To the Gentleman of the House, Richard Blake,” she said, grinning as she looked at me for a quick second. “After consideration of your previous application, the Institute of Warfare has decided to approve your request for License Level 1. The following reasons are why this request has been approved.”

  “Yes!” I cried, interrupting Lily for a beat. She raised a gloved hand to shush me and returned to reading.

  “Reason 1: Your territorial holdings have doubled since your initial participation in the Great Game. Reason 2: Your assimilation of the Efera Gentry into your household. Reason 3: Your alliance with the Frankin
son Gentry. These accolades are deserving of immediate promotion to the next rank. In addition, to reward your efforts in improving your rank and status so quickly, the Institute has decided to waive the remainder of your loan, effective…immediately.”

  “What?” I gasped. The Institute paid off my loan? This would dramatically speed up my ability to grow my property since I was no longer on the hook for nearly 8,000 silver.

  “That’s what it says, Master!” Lily said, giggling a little and placing the paper on the desk for me to examine. “This is no joke. You’re now Rank 1 and free of debt!” She clasped her hands together. “I can’t believe it worked out like this.”

  “You’re telling me,” I said, reading over the paper. It was definitely real. Had the signature of the Queen herself (though a Scribe Golem probably was just copying her style.) I had finally hit License Level 1, thanks to my research assistant Nigel’s discovery.

  While browsing the various rules of the Great Game, Nigel had discovered a section called “Unquantifiable Advancements.” Apparently, while winning invasions and repelling invaders was a great way to increase one’s rank, the Crown had a supplementary program recognizing clever deeds and actions. Participants in the Gentleman’s War were encouraged to write often to the Institute, bragging about great achievements and applying for license credits. My first attempt had paid off marvelously. For not only had I unlocked new golem types and new defensive buildings, but I had also opened up two advisor slots in the Grid. What was an advisor slot? Well, I guess I was about to find out!

  Chapter 2

  “Are you pondering? Or in the Grid?” Lily asked as I stared upwards at nothingness. It was difficult for the staff to get used to my constant departures from reality as there was no real indication that I was mentally present or not. I had considered maybe pulling my starmetal pendant out from beneath my tunic when using the Grid, but no one seemed to ever pay attention to that subtle cue. So for now I would have to suffer people constantly asking if I was using the powerful mystic Grid or just staring upwards at the ceiling for hours at a time primarily for my own amusement.

  “Grid,” I mumbled, trying to focus on the bevy of information that came flooding in to greet me. The letter from the Institute had included a small metal card, pressed from what I presumed was starmetal, indicating my new rank. Upon touching the card, it had flashed green, transferring a flood of mystic energy into my locket, triggering notifications for me to read.

  Gentry Rank 3/5 has been achieved!

  License Level 1 has been unlocked. New units, towers and territory buildings are now available for deployment.

  2 Advisor slots have been unlocked. Advisors may now be hired in the advisor section.

  Specialization must be declared before Queen and Country. Please select from the list below.

  My eyebrows raised at the sight of the specialization section. These looked to be far superior to just another set of upgrades.

  Specializations

  Businessman

  The Businessman specialization allows for higher production of wealth, focusing on using territorial buildings primarily for financial gain. While this specialization doesn’t gain free upgrades per rank advancement, you may always purchase unit or tower upgrades with silver.

  Passive Benefits:

  - Revenue producing buildings earn 50% more per month.

  - Newly constructed revenue buildings gain one free upgrade of your choice.

  - Upgrades may now be purchased with silver.

  Rank Increase Benefits:

  - Renumerations are doubled in silver value with each additional rank.

  - Gain 1 free building or building upgrade of your choosing.

  Sentinel

  The Sentinel is focused on protecting existing territories, ensuring that none shall be able to break his well-designed defenses. This specialization grants tower upgrades with each rank increase.

  Passive Benefits:

  - All tower types gain 10 armor.

  - Towers no longer cost mana crystals, regardless of types.

  - Barricades automatically repair themselves to half health between waves.

  Rank Increase Benefits:

  - Each rank increase provides 2 tower upgrades.

  - Every other rank increase provides 1 golem upgrade and 2 tower upgrades.

  - You may remove tower upgrades each rank, gaining a refund on the upgrade spent.

  Conqueror

  The Conqueror focuses less on defending his own land and more on acquiring land from others through the use of golems. This specialization grants golem upgrades with each rank increase.

  Passive Benefits:

  - Capturing a new territory with a valid claim allows you to keep all buildings, upgrades included.

  - Golems cost 50% less to repair when in a foreign territory.

  - Salvage rewards are increased by 25%.

  Rank Increase Benefits:

  - Each rank increase provides 2 golem upgrades.

  - Every other rank increase provides 1 tower upgrade and 2 golem upgrades.

  - When ranking up, you may sell off any number of golems in any territory for a full refund.

  “So many choices,” I muttered. I started to explain to Lily what my options were, but the dead silence probably meant she was long gone. I still couldn’t quite get a handle on how much time passed when I was within the Grid. It certainly flew by, that was for sure.

  I wished that I could bypass these choices right now and think them through, but unfortunately the Grid was rather insistent that I make the decision at this exact moment. Conqueror was certainly not my interest here, as I wasn’t really interested in invading others. Sure, I did have a claim to press on behalf of Efera, but there had to be other means of gaining territory than just straight up war, right?

  Businessman seemed interesting too, but…having to pay for upgrades each time? I had no way of knowing how much these upgrades would cost, but I could guess that they scaled up with each advanced unit. I’d rather use that money elsewhere. I think for now, the best choice would be the Sentinel. Free tower upgrades, no more paying mana crystals for towers and best of all, armor on everything. The perfect choice for a gentleman who wanted to keep his territory secure.

  Once the Grid was satisfied with my choice, I was informed of new upgrades as well as the advisor tab’s appearance. I would worry about upgrading my towers later, for now I wanted to see just what an advisor slot entailed. Hopefully I’d be able to gain some much needed guidance with the Great Game.

  The instructions regarding Advisors appeared as I opened up the new tab. Several large empty circles popped up with different titles above each circle. Advisors are now available. 2 advisor slots are open. Select Advisor type, then select Candidate.

  The list wasn’t particularly long, but I could only choose two advisors for right now. I examined the description of each advisor type.

  Claims Advisor: The Claims Advisor handles all matter of an Estate’s claim, from issuing out new titles to family members, to researching genealogies to find existing claims from family ties.

  Erudite: The Erudite is trained in the rules, laws and art of the Gentleman’s War, with a wide knowledge of all topics pertaining to conduct and regulation in the game.

  Spymaster: A Spymaster is responsible for organizing intelligence networks both inside and outside your territory, scouting enemy positions and learning of plots being hatched against you.

  Magistrate: The Magistrate handles affairs of your territory, allies and relationships. An effective magistrate is able to improve diplomatic relations, find potential marriage opportunities and collect taxes from vassals.

  There were more types of advisors, but they seemed to be locked away currently. Too bad, because I was curious what their jobs consisted of. Still, the four currently in my view were interesting. A Spymaster would help me get answers about the assassin, but…I think I needed more help st
abilizing my regime first. Sure, we were safe for now, and with the Sentinel specialization even more so, but I already had one solid lead on my hands. Whatever a Spymaster could reveal, it was unsure if it would be as advantageous as what Eustace had hinted at.

  Instead, I wanted to look to the past, not only to learn about what claims the Blake family held, but also their ancestral ties. Perhaps there was some enemy that had a claim to our land, seeking to murder us as an easy way to gain entry into the nobility. After all, if the murderer had a claim to our lands and was the only surviving heir, no one would be able to contest his ascension.

  The Claims Advisor was my first choice. A list of candidates appeared as I made the selection. There were a few names, but the one at the top seemed to be the most qualified. The Venerable Hagen Lude was his name and he looked to be rather ancient. I always thought that my butler was old, but this fellow, judging from his portrait, looked to be nearly a hundred. Maybe even more. But I suppose you want someone old when it comes to looking into past genealogies. Who knows, maybe he even knew some of my ancestors in person!

  Once Hagen was selected, I was notified that he would be summoned to the estate within the week. There was a not so subtle reminder that the advisor would require his own quarters and office space as well. That wasn’t much of a problem, of course, for Blake Manor had more rooms than it did people at this point. Something that I’d be able to hopefully change someday.

  My second pick fell between Magistrate and Erudite. Having someone who knew the rules of the Great Game itself would be handy for certain…but I also wanted to expand my little family. Adding the Frankinsons as allies was all fine and good, but there were plenty more neighbors nearby. And honestly the best defense was surrounding yourself with allies who your enemy would have to go through before they got to you.